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User blog:Chronias/Velia LeQuella (Requiem)
External (Flickr) image Velia Le'Quella 'was a renowned Kindred occultist, an elder from the Mekhet clan and a Twilight Councilor of the Ordo Dracul. What could be perceived: Kine Velia originally cared little for making up mortal alter egos for herself after she received the Embrace — usually impersonating her mortal self while becoming gradually shrouded in and cushioned by a considerable amount of uncertainty and obscurity, omitted by figmented suggestions of faux-familiarity. She however understood that a manageable façade must be offered for the public observation and parlance thus she usually named herself as either her own biological or adopted daugher —or by one of her ghoul 's or another— or at least consecutively becoming her own legal inheritor by accepting a condition of the testament of will that the Le'Quella name must be borne by the beneficiary in order to claim right for the inheritable assets. In the latest nights she was called Volante Le'Quella, living with her "family" in a villa in the North Italian town of Gorizia who most likely had French or Swiss Romandian ancestry reinforced with the fact she spoke fluent french. She wound up to some of the galas in town too, accompanied by a man named Lior Margulies. She also seemed to have some ties to the local noble families' descendants who run either hotels or foundations in the city. She is said to be a sleep therapist by trade, and her companion being involved with coaching. Volante claimed to have a degree in Medicine from the University of Geneva and a recurring periodic praxis in Gorizia, Verona, Geneva, Nantes and in Angers. She indeed may have been also known for traveling to Switzerland and to France now and then — always by car. She had a pretty novel Ford Flex, but she was never seen driving it herself. Kindred She was usually known as Velia, regardless of whatever official name she was actually registered by Kine. Depending on who you would have asked she was known in many different ways, depths, and reasons for. Most Kindred who have heard of her could have told you that she was old blood, an elder. Mekhet among these would have surely know that she was one of them. Those who heard of her and claimed to know her would have surely told that she was an occultist, an Auspex master, one of the Sandmen, a telepath, a Dragon, a mysticist, a theosophist, a kabbalist, a heretic, an accomplice of mages, a secret broker, a lackadaisical pretender... — again, depending on the person. If you had asked around at the Courts of Verona, -Geneva, or -Nantes, you would have been told that she might have been in any of these cities, or possibly someone had pointed you to even her main haven's location in the town of Gorizia in Northern Italy. If you had asked around in one of the major comsopolite cities across the globe, you would have been rather turned to Olivie Devereux, who claimed to be her childe, which would possibly left you puzzled with her air of an artsy Daeva about. Kindred in her localities would have said, she rarely left her haven(s), possibly not even for a hunt, but when she did she was accompanied by her ghouls, seemingly always, if not playing bodyguards, companions then someone would trail her in the shadows. Mekhet might have confirmed that some of her companions were indeed bodyguards, and not just ghouls but would have mention any random walk of shady Mekhet, most likely Khaibit. Some would have implied too that she had ties to the Ordo Dracul, some might have even suggested that among the Dragons she was a serious one. She was mostly know at the Courts of Verona, -Geneva, or -Nantes as a Geomancer who may cap and channel the energies in one's Haven to bestow beneficial effects on to architectural space. Some could even know she dealt in even more valuable services. Secrets. (On secret channels.) But would have been a fool to tell. Information is power — Therefore for the participants of Danse Macabre, something jealously guarded. Someone connected to the Mekhet ''Shadow Cult, the Moirai, might have dreamt of her or received a dream dressed as a "vision' by her. Most of these would even sweat she has three eyes. A random attendant of the local Elysium would have said that an ex-coterie-mate heard spreading it on the cacophony that someone heard from one of their sire's retainer's contact that she somehow was capable to talk sense into some deranged old Lord, who seems to be still less insane as before. Ordo Dracul Velia was known by the more informed (or resourceful enough) members of the Ordo Dracul as a major scholar of the 'Mystery of the Ascendant' and was also considered to be an active member of the Order since most of its mainstream history. She was noted for mastering the Coils of the Dragon with impressive progress but first of all she made herself good reputation by detecting and discovering Fontal and Wyrm's Nests , treasured so much by the Ordo (and other covenants leaning towards the occult, let alone other kinds of supernatural beings as well), with perplexing acuity. Her own proclivity, interest and additional serendipity led to her studies on occultism, theosophy and various gnostic philosophies. On top of these were her meddling with actual mages, at which point the Order made Velia swear the Oath of the Dying Light to ensure that her own motives are aligned with the Dragon's interests and endeavour and to seal its (and her) security in the face of mortal but unfathomable and powerful willworkers, regardless of their benign involvement and shared interest in the ensuing studies. Senior members could have known even more about her. For example that before the Ordo Dracul evene xisted as the the secret society it was before its eventual exposure she was Invictus and not unlike some others in the same shoe she maintained double allegiance. Tonight's Invictus knew little to nothing about that as most of her connections from that time were lost to the Anarchs' revolt in the Holy Roman Empire (to the nobility of which she had mortal ties) when the Kine fought the Thiry Years War. Some circles however might have known her, like the so called Nachteulen, what in turn was a secret faction within the First Estate in and by itself. Velia actually found them being forceful dilettantes and a hindrance to pursuing her own agendas of genuine occultism and factual blood sorcery. By the end of the XIX. century when the Ordo Dracul declared itself as a full fledged covenant her official ties to the Invictus all but deadened. She however rarely turned down any occult commission to lord or ladies of the Conspiracy od Silence for the right compensation. Velia was first among the known Twilight Masters that now comprise the leadership of the Sworn of the Dying Light — scholars, judges, researchers and academics who shape the course of the Order's studies to achieve the 'Great Work'. Her personal dissertation was widely recognised and debated as it suggested -among other radical points- that the 'Beast' is not merely a dark aspect of the primal urges manifested in the Kindred's soul what is acting with ferocity and disregard for reason along a single-minded drive to satisfy predatory needs. According to her the 'Beast' is not tied to and only capable of harnessing the resources of the material existence as many would thought it is. The "banal dross of the material plane" is but another limit the 'Beast' and the 'Man' can overcome. The 'Great Work' is about overcoming the limits that bar Kindred in the stagnation of their Requiem. The 'Man' along with the 'Beast' within Kindred can overcome obstacles and use them as stepping stones — as much as the oldest Coils of the Dragon prowed they can. If the 'Man' has faith in and in the know of what he or she need to achieve The 'Beast' can be disciplined to work in tandem. If the 'Man' and the 'Beast' can form a mutual 'affinity' the may fulfill one's soul with a 'given principle'. The 'Beast's nature is not immutable — which notion opens the path to progress, the key to the sacred change to step further in achieving the 'Great Work'. In Velia's modelling this 'affinity' is pursued by the rungs of the Coil of the Sidereal , a Mystery she introduced and refined from a sort of blood sorcery to this purpose, which is to steer one's way towards unity with source through fulfilling the holes in one's soul with the right principle's content. It was only marginally practiced, deliberately as Velia also noted that esoteric knowledge (by its nature) is exclusive to its seekers, and although "all knowledge is readily accessible, it is the individual's limitations that bar them from attaining it". It was her predicament that "one will certainly seek" (to learn and practice) "the Coil of the Sidereal if one is ripe for it" and for what it may deliver. Velia's approach to attain enlightenment by countering one's spiritual shortcomings and reaching unity with the source made her a central member of the Ordo Dracul's camp of the so called 'Angelics'. Also called the 'Nephilim', they believe they must eliminate the stigma(s) of spiritual imperfection that is the source of their physical weaknesses and psychological torment. In doing so, they will attain Gnosis, which will transform them into semi-divine beings. They believe that only achieving omniscience will conquer the curse. Velia was said to be aligned with the 'Wallachian Rite' of the Order as of its founding in 1782 in London in response of the disparity caused by a number of different paths the order's course forked into. While a stern supporter of tradition, she did on more than a couple of occasions incite cooperation and sat on 'Twilight Jury' councils to resolve conflicts between Damascene-, Palatine- and Wallachian Academies. Velia filled no actual office within the Order aside of being a Master of the Dying Light but her havens were known by the Order (or more precisely at least by local Kogaions) being sites of recurring Fontal Nests. Her involvement with awakened mages' lore and borrowed knowledge and the resulting 'invention' and use of the Prime Infused Vitae Fontal ritual. However as the Mystery of the Sidereal was fuelled partially by one's Humanity in terms of efficiency it was put to the margin for being nigh-heretical according to the philosophy of the Ordo Dracul. Velia practicing them was yet still tolerated for unknown reasons. Her opposition often revoked their accusations eventually, or went missing. [Certainly those who even knew anything of any worth about the "Devil's Eye" were as many among Kindred as multi-billion lottery-winners among the Kine. Still Velia's development of the Mystery of the Sidereal caught the attention of the conspiracy and was "asked" to convert it into a Coil of the Devil. It became favored over the Coil of Zirnitra in garnering arcane savvy. For its own assessed gain it was the Devil's Eye that provided free-range and protection with its invisible hand for this nigh-heretical practice of Velia's. Her most salient results, the so called Scales of the Sidereal, and especially the certain Scales of Aether were secrets guarded on Final death-note by the Devil's Eye which was implemented by the notorious and nigh-legendary Moroi "hunters" of the Ordo Dracul.] What was less known: As she received the embrace Velia soon showed the characteristics of the 'Sandmen' who sail on the winds and swim on the streams of dreams and also can influence them. In due course her mental abilities advanced and seasoned to made her a sort of augur and a powerful telepath — in effect turning her into a silent information broker and counselor to hidden designs of plots that usually took decades or centuries to earn fruition. In her most practical dealings she made an unliving by selling intriguing information, appalling or incriminating secrets to those who showed a measurable interest for such. She was both well respected or shunned or seen in awe for these talents — depending on the view of party who either benefitted from or was ashamed by her disclosure. Velia differed form the bulk of her fellow Damned in that she possessed a relative high degree of humanity and spiritual serenity that radiated a natural and contagious decorum. Later on in her unlife as an elder she became advanced in the Coil of the Ascendant and possessing the right perks she was able to overcome the signature Mekhet weakness of heightened light sensitivity. As much Lucid Dreamer Kindred loathe the prospect of guaranteed feverish nightmares of Torpor, with premeditated slumber rituals wards and via her esoteric predilection she went through some sort of torpid epiphany that made her able to tap mystical powers not naturally (nor supernaturally) inherent to vampires — and even for her only accessible through crafted devotions. She had a mystical connection to stars or more precisely to starlight, claiming that these celestial bodies are "aethereal beacons that nourish those who know how to trans-act with them". This idea was indeed quite esoteric, or say novel, even to the Ordo Dracul, but were seen as one with potential, especially as she could also relate even this to trace Ley Line flows and locate and identify the much prized Wyrm's Nests. Eventually she swore the Grand Oath of Dying Light, and also made a pact with the Eyes of Ain Soph inaugurating her as a counseling vampire occultist for the Mysterium. As a result she unlocked a series of mystical powers and uncovered the Mystery of the Sidereal and a number of relating Scales. This and other marketable powers, like geomancy or simply knowing secret fears and desires of others from dreams, earned her a favorable standing with the Invictus as a valuable asset — through the Courts of Verona, Geneva and Nantes. She too striked the interest of the Lancea et Sanctum with her health restoring mental willworking spreading on lips sometimes. They were of double mind concerning her being either as angelic as it might have seem like or rather diabolic in true nature. Biography _______________________________ Early life - 15th Century Velia was born to a Friulian noble lady from the House of Gorizia and to the son of a military officer hailing from the County of Anjou who conducted espionage in the area. Her first name is an Italian version of the ancient roman family name Velius, meaning concealed. She was raised by her mother who was largely denied of her inheritance for being a female scion of her lineage, and having a sole daughter (again female heir) born to one of the invading French army's commoner soldier to whom she of course did not and could not marry. Velia's grandfather, Count Leonhard, who lived in Burg Bruck elected to keep her inllegitimate daughter and granddaughter away in his farther domain - the County of Gorizia proper. With his death, lacking an heir, the country passed to Austrian Habsburg rule. Meanwhile Velia's father was enlisted by the army and subsequently died on the battlefield in one skirmish of the Italian Wars against the forces of the Republic of Venice. For decades Velia's mother maintained an infirmary in their house in the city of Gorizia given to them by Virgil von Graben, the old count's deputy and later cptain and keeper, as a sort of alimony. Ther she provided medical aid and shelter for the injured where Velia was helping to tend to the wounded and the infirm. One day a stranger showed up on their doorsteps to offer help in exchange for a bed for a time. Velia's mother had second thoughts but accepted the man in as his help was much needed both as a healer and as someone who would protect them too from less kind strangers, as much as the mother and daughter family did rely on one or more man's or servant's helping hands earlier around the household. He turned out to be an exceptional healer, and even more exceptional in interpreting and unravelling dreams Velia admitted to having toubling ones. She learned much next to him concerning medicine. The small family had to abandon their home eventually due to financial concerns and her mother moved to Carinthia, initially to relatives. Renaissance and the 16-18th Centuries Velia did not remain with her Mother in Austria. She decided to look for the man she learned so much of medicine and philosophy from. She wished to become better skilled and more educated in both. There Velia used her small allowance to get to Basel to attend the university and learn phylosophy and medicine. Her mother followed up with the relatives of Virgil fon Graben - who according to her oved their wealth in disinherining her. She was taken in at Burg Sommeregg as a companion. Females were not allowed to attend the university but the male sudents were permitted to bring their sister along to lectures. Velia had to make due posing as the "sister" of the sons and protegees lordlings who coud afford tuition. It was around those nights in Basel when she one was severely abused by those 'brothers' in repaying favor for them. She was left wasted and excessively beaten before she was found and embraced by that time already familiar man. Her sire, by his masquerade alias was known as Leonardo de Candia, a hermeticist who was also at a time an agent of the Florentine Medici family in Pistoia ,Tuscany . He made her aware of the arcane teaching of the Hermetic Tradition, and took extensive care to train Velia to master Auspex as an important means of survival. Velia came to understand he was a wise man, leading her through her fledgeling neonate time with much compassion reflecting to his own experiences through anecdotic recalling. He taught her that being vampire is generally a torment, and the embrace is a sin to transmit one's curse to another in the false hope of thinking one can make difference over the torment, the false concept of creating something of merit, to preserve something of virtue and worth. He however still believed that Velia was special, but in due course she, or more specifically what she became started to keep reminding him on his own shortcomings. Her sire eventually went on his own travels to continue his path on to "attaining Gnosis" — as he said, stepping out of her unlife in a similar fashion he did step into her life at the start of their relationship. Velia went on to maintain the her unlife as an esoteric scholar, but she found out that she can perceive others' dreams and gather exact and meta-information from the streaming subconscious "Sea of Dreams" she sometimes also referred to as "Dreamtime", and making use of gathered information was often rewarding – if someone knew with whom to exchange it. Her mother's hosting household, Burg Sommeregg , change hands and effective she to - becoming housekeeper and earning prestiege and class among her new employers, the rising Khvenhüller noble family. She invited Velia a couple times and intended to make her a governess, educating the children, however she acted strangely - seeming never to be willing to eat, turning sick quickly when she ate anyway, let alone refusing to leave dark rooms during the day. Veronica was shocked to see her daughter looking pale and sickly. The experience was shocking to Velia in turn, and perhaps this was a cause she properly applied Blush of Life in and also pledged herself to alleviate the banes of Kindred existence as much as possible with like minded individuals at what the first Academies of Ordo Dracul were. To abate suspicions she used the vinculum and finally taught astronomy to the children for quite the stipend. This continued on for a generation but after her mother's passing and her original charges gone, she only felt stagnation and eventually decided to move on. Then she realized the double edge of the blood-bond as those who have accustomed to sip her Vitae kept on showing up, even tracking her. Velia dove into learning, searching and interpreting what scattered and most often incomplete notes existed of the Rites of the Dragon in those chaotic times where both outside persecution and internal struggles blighted the Ordo. According to Veronica's diary Velia at least once spent a dinner with her mother (eating food – as it is considered normal), also that she dreamt often of and with her daughter. She realized that some of the members of the Gonzaga family she is related to (by mortal means) through her maternal grandmother's line are actually Kindred, based in the Kingdom of Naples , she however did little to nothing to gain any benefit from the fact of the connection. Geneva – by the middle of the XVI. century become a Protestant city and a state of realtive welfare – definitely provided benefits for he local soon-to-be early budding Ordo Dracul chapter what other chapters across Europe hardly shared. During her studies Velia became aware that her mental powers did really extend over the course, surging up not just by walking the "Dreamtime" but she eventually came to firmly control telekinetic powers and mind-related effects that she attributed to Auspex clearvoyance and telapathy she constantly refined from the moment of her embrace, and also was a chief factor of her relative fast advancement within the secretive ranks of the Ordo. What the XVII. century had in store was the Catholic vs. Protestant conflicts escalation in the Thiry Years War for the Kine and conterminously the Anarchs' revolt for the Kindred, shaking up the foundations of undead society turning neonates against the tyranny of the elders. Without a strong population of ancillae to bridge the chasm between the young and old, a large-scale conflict between the traditional and the revolutionary seemed inevitable. The number of Damned dimished in Central Europe in its wake estimated as by a third, taking the greatest toll on the German-speaking dead of whom three-guarter met final death in the conflicts. The Helvetic Confederacy left the Holy Roman Empire with Geneva firmly standing as a protestant Calvinist city and within its walls as an ancilla – a rare find at the time – Velia persisted. Like many other members of the Ordo Dracul at the time – and for centuries to come – Velia maintiand a 'public' allegiance with another Kindred Covenet, in her case the Invictus. Victorian Era With the rise of the Ordo in numbers and prominece in the XIX. century — on the other hand it almost entirely was withdrawn from Kindred society by the beginning of Queen Victoria's reign. While most Ordo members utilized this era of sercret society life to infiltrate and learn from other esoteric Kindred covenats as Theban Sorcery of the Lancea Sanctum or the Crúac of the Circle of the Crone, Velia turned her attention elsewhere — from Kindred society to that of mages and esoteric studies such as Theosophy and Kabbalah. During these decades did Velia enter a more extended voluntary torpor, which was by design ritually prepared by fellow Mekhet Agonistes Kindred to aid her, for what she made arrangements in advance. While torpid, she was able to journey — what she later learned from charmed and even ghouled mages while clandestine meetings and private researches were — Astral Space. Her inherent connection to the mortal's Dreamtime technically allowed her entry to the Oneiroi of people. Another set of astral journeys and further arcane knowlege attained — by infiltrating mage cabals and liaising with the Ascended of the Mysterium — made her aware of the Aether as well. Velia used Insomnium to a great deal to manifest in the Oneiroi of mages thus sparked initial interest, usually followed by manipulations of Majesty and Obsfuscate and even through Vinculum that could finnaly even set up Velia being perceived as a hedge magee or other times one with what seemed to be a Nimbus of her own. Through the study of Aether and through research with the cooperation of mages and sharpening her already impressive Auspex disciplin even further Velia found even herself - to a degree - counscious of arcane resonances and actively took on researching the 'Nexus' es or 'Wyrm's Nests' the Ordo Dracul always had in great regard. She too did understand that a vampire has no hopes for Awakening as some Kine may be to become an actual mage. Vampiric soul is severly altered during the Embrace and cannot be harmonized with the Supernal Realms anymore, moreover a mage turned in to a vampire immediately kost their ability to cast spells, as their suprenal harmonics were destroyed upon the Embrace, their Avatar was destroyed and -in a sense- replaced by the powers conferred with the entanglement of the vampire's inner Beast. Perhaps one of her most valuable revelations after that understandig was, that however denied fom attaining the spark of divinity from within alone - without certain aid -, the endeavour to do so might be catalyzed by harnessing ambient aethereal power to calm one's (vampiric) soul to open up (at least a little more than nothing) for the Supernal. She started reasearch on the nature and the power of starlight, and came to realize that starlight bears a sublime aethereal harmonic resonance free from the ardent elemental force of the Sun. She initially studied correlations of astronomy and occurences of Wyrm's Nests. Results eventually allowed her to design a number of Vitae-infused light "well"''s in her Haven that absorbed starlight – and in an almost religious way – offered some of such captured arcane energy back to the night sky. It was during these same nights that she developed her rituals in to a proper Discipline after feeding on vials of extracted Vitae imbued in one of her starlit wells. She discovered that by consuming vials of Vitae imbued as such augments her Insomnium abilities in the way she can restore mental and psychosomatic maladies in her targets of effect and perhaps most importantly also becoming able to ease the healing process of aggravated damages in Kindred by conferring meditative, say blissful dream and actual sleeping. The vials she usually took to the Lancea et Sanctum or invited a priest of the Spear to preserve them via Theban Sorcery, however this became halfway obsolete after Kine invented the process to refrigerate blood. (Needles to mention that the Spear was initially suspitious and even more so as her need for Theban preservation of vials of Vitae ceased.) The vials acted as repsitory of the mystical power filtered down from the Materia Prima - allowing Velia expand the limits of Auspex to manipulate other's self-sense and even metabolic over-control through ''"Psychic chirurgery", a Devotion of her own invetion. This ability of hers became occastinally more sought after by Kindred clients than digging up someone's dirt from dreams and slumber. Her frivolous status as a vamipre occultist in close relation with mages stirred much unrest, outrage and perhaps even more curiosity among the ranks of the Dragons, but eventually it was tolerated in order to finally provide some insight on the arcane knowlege of Kine mages that was obcure to the Ordo. However Velia had a skewed perspective of experiencing Magic, for most if not all her acquired arcane powers were in line with and only furthering of her Auspex powers and - most interestingly to the Dragons - with the Coil of the Ascendant. Regarding her experiments with the magic of starlight stoke the attention of even a mage legacy, the Eyes of Ain Soph, who sought her out and provided counsel in exchange of participation in the experiments. Velia could not keep this in secret from the Ordo, who as a whole did not actually object having her a cooperation with mages who then offered to consider Velia as a vampire occultists contact for the Mysterium. Velia had to swear a Great Oath to the Ordo Dracul though, one of unwavering loyality and as such she became a Sworn of the Dying Light. She became a central character among the 'Angelics' or 'Nephilim' camp of the Ordo Dracul - Dragons, who believed that transcendence is in omniscience and by supposedly becoming something of a "beatific" creature, overcoming the monstrous one Kindred are. The naming of the camp has to do a great deal with the entities of the Aether, called Angels. Velia was impressed to learn that mages can summon Suprenal entities, including Anges, as was she shocked to learn that they can summon Seraphim, whom are Forces (like burning light) manifested and thus could only meet with Rötschreck from her part - however she was not just accepting to observe but even insisting for summons of Cherubim, the recondite entities of Prime, who are nut just a fount of Mana but also that of considerable knowlege and divine inspiration. The name 'Nephilim' comes from the Hebrew "נְפִילִים" ~ "nephíl" and for the Ordo camp is understood is a reference to both the notion that they are childer in between heaven and earth and that they are the Damned 'Angelics' of what the Awakened call the Fallen World - i.e. 'fallen angels'. Velia was taught a great deal of the nature of the Prime and its relation to all magic by summoned Cherubim and she was endlessly fascinated by these celestials. Velia was firm believer that the 'Keter' https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sephirot%7CSephira of the Kabbalah's "Tree of Life" is what the mages call the 'Acanum of Prime'. According to her childe, Olivie, Velia adopted to display a third eye in the Dreamtime and sometimes though illusions even in the real world after beholding a Cherub decorated with many sets of beautiful eyes all over its body. By this time Velia's 'public' Kindred profile as a member of the Invictus was that of an Alder and Senator (occult consultant) The 19th Century Playing out the Austrian restoration after Napoleons grasp and esuing era of peace and upheaval Velia acquired a manse in Gorizia, where she used to grow up. Also during this era she developed the custom to effortlessly transport her household to another location, to either as close as Venice or someplace away as Geneva or as relatively far as Angers where she got hold on or "inherited" safe-houses as well, respectively. However as any Alucinor values their safety she often had the wanderlust to travel to these relatively far areas from time to time as a human might say needing a change of air or landscape, she too seemed to need some change of dreamscape occasionally. After a very powerful nightmare resulting in sleepwalking during daylight Velia suffered severe burns but was eventually picked up and dragged to the shadows by one of her ghouls (Lior Margulies) she seriously took on studying the Dragon Coil of Banes, but eventually settled with the even more focused Coil of the Ascendant. After Bram Stroker did in feect expose the secretive Ordo Dracul to Kindred Society and seeded interest in vampires in Kine popular culture, the Dragons had to abandon their reclusive nature and became a full fledged covenant of its own in 1897, an already powerful one as well. Those who had double-allegiances from before the exposure became sacrafices of either covenant's ire while some of them became the first Kogaions of the Order. 20th Century The great wars of this century brought unrest and stife to the Kine, and subseqently to Kindred as well by significantly thinning the source of sustenance. Velia Had to abandon her haven in Gorizia as the town became actually situated on the frontline of the First World War between Austria-Hungary and Italian forces and the battles at Isonzo happened in the close vicinity of it. It is needles to mention that the deaths of hundreds of thousands in the area spolied the 'Fontal Nest' which was the main reason she choose the site originally. She fled to Venice, then passing through Verona she moved permanently to Geneva - as Switzerland was a neutral country. She returned to Gorizia 1918 to reclaim her haven and spent much time and resources to cleanse the Fontal Nest by manipulating local Ley Lines and performing various rituals and to renovate the mansion. This was the time when she honed her Geomantic skills to even a marketable level. Her capability to track Ley Line flows and indentifying 'Wellheads' and Wyrm's Nests and being a Dragon since almost the beginnings made her a prized member of the Ordo Dracul. The Second World War did not affect Friuli quite as much as the previous one, while on the other hand her Angers townhouse was impaired during the bombing of the city in 1947. However she was generally detached from everynight politics and public unlife Velia's insights and telpathic intelligence-gathering customs earned her a non-coveted place among the Invictus Court of Verona mostly due to the phychic healing enhancement treatments offered to some seated members of the covenant and to the fact she could percieve mental patterns on a general level which were often suitable to be taken in connection with actual happenings. She became regarded as honorary Senator after she geomantically arranged some areas in use by the Prince of Verona and those of some of his courtiers. This she duplicated these favors at the Court of Geneva and at the Court of Nantes as well, seadily establishing an honored status with the Domitors of her Havens' localities. She maintained a grassroot network of telepathic and telempathic contacts and informants, widened through her childe, ghouls and associate Kindred. She did not use her informations up very much, and even more rare were those occasions when she would abused those, other than forwarding valuable intelligence and precious information she was occasionally "phishing" to a thankful buyer or bidder. Her aforementioned remedial powers being on potential offer made her wanted by some for such a service, and she was never barring herself from a lucrative deal nestled in the chance to offer help where and when it was needed. She tended to deliberately making herself generally unaprochable on the other hand, adding an air of respect to her. This was gone often as far as she has woven obfuscated and unreal spaces in her haven, like seemingly endlessly repeating semi-uniformal rooms and furnishings of pure figment out of plain practical eccentricism, she referred to as "Sancuary" and justified their application as "need for solitude". Velia a couple times needed to spend significant time in torpor in orded to thin her blood becoming too potent which woul allow her feeding only on Kindred. Usually she took greeat effort arranging these episodes by commissioning Agonistes ritualists to assist her in overcoming the "memory skews" especially dangerous to her bloodline which was in and by itslef blighted with nighmarish delusions naturally. Later, as her own "astral insights" developed, she became less reliant on these mystic clansmen, but kept good relations with them nevertheless. Her last attempt of thinning her over-condensed Vitae however was a very uncommon if not outright apocryphal, yet successful method - guarded as jealously as vampiric occultism generally is. Appearance and Personality _______________________________ Velia had an overall pale complexion but could sometimes muster almost life-like but still very moderate rosy coloration on cheeks and around her cold golden gleaming eyes. (She often goes to invigorate at least her face and hands with the Blush of Life.) However she was often detached from the living and the what she called the "sleeping world" altogether, spending not excessive attention to follow the fahion of neither Kine nor even Kindred up to date, she was dressing in attires and gowns mostly after the tastes of mild late renaissance or classicist and prominently those of the empire/regency styles, and definitely it is something the average and, say conformist, human would have called "a little eccentric". People who claimed to remember her from their dreams of hallucinations often report that she bears a third eye on her forehead, strangely vertically aligned that glows with a soft pale golden radiance and is also describet to be weeping luminous volatile substance, what made it quite memorable at times. She was a resolute solitary person. She was fond of being alone and be left with her thoughts, and an ocean of subcounscious (of others) she found better filtering well -for sanity's sake-, meditating very often and she was devoting much time to reach and potentially even linger in what her sire called "Gnosis". She too was gone fom time-to-time in to voluntary torpor for undefined extents of time. In spite of her casual detachment from the world in general she did readily offer to help others in need and also was happy to sprinkle and seed wisdom to those who sought it or were prone to seek hers exactly. She felt it was her destiny to lead as much people —Kindred and Kine alike— on to the path of wisdom as possible, however she never dragged anyone on to it as she firmly believed that one has to ripen in soul enough to take the steps by his or her own wisdom and insight. She left her "ivory tower" at least once or twice a week to attend clients or paying customers of specific information or augury, other times troubled or hunted people seeking some remedy for psychic, psychosmatic, or physical banes. She always teded to adhere to the notion of the Masquerade, especially while performing health aid, always applying Blush of Life while seeing to Kine in pubilc and almost always resorting to put patients to sleep with a single anaesthetic touch during or before any form of treatment service she may have rendered. Velia maintained a relatively large number of ghouls through the 'bliss' of her Vitae. She could develop a stronger telepathic bond with her ghouls so she saw little harm in their creation and in their maintenance, also she utilizes some of these individuals as retainers and bodyguards. She did not intentionally seek power or control, only a comfortable and safe existence to bear her Requiem buying enough quality time for herself to attain "Gnosis". She believed that there was little to rule but much to teach in the world - so she was staying to attempt to do so. Not by forceful means as preaching or conversion, though, but by setting up the signs to attempt pointing to and at other's potential personal insights, much like a psychologist would try to incite revelations and make their patient's have their personal insights to be gained of themselves by themselves. She was not above using the Moirai Shadow Cult as means to exert control over mortals, subtly leeching (for Willpower) and manipulating (as unvitting temporary Retainers) sleepers to further her own agendas. She was more often than not obsessed with divination, regularly too prone to see signs wher they may or may not have been, ehich made her often observing the arrangement of cuttlery on surfaces, furniture in rooms etc, looking for hidden meanings and patterns. She however directly converted her later developed sensitivity for ley lines of geomantic power, of what she probably profited half as much as from mental therapies. She used to fuse Vitae in to her face and possibly additional areas of exposed flesh often unintentionally when among Kine especially when she received surprise-attention. In retrospect Velia could deduct that her own aura did alternate between an emotional/devotional call and a scientific/intellectual aspiration to attain a synchron with her existence and its place in the whole, realizing the true path is in their potential synthesis. Quasi-Nimbus: As much as vampires are deprived of the hopes of ever awakening as mages did, during much of her dealings and interactions with mages and even in some cases other Kine, or even Kindred, Velia did never quirw shun from projecting what seemed to be mage-like Nimbus. Of course it was always just a cosmetic illusion conjured up from Majesty's Awe subtly blended with Obsfuscation (also known as 'Chains of the Spirit' as a Devotion) — however it never failed to induce wondering, becalm or inspire awe in onlookers. Childe _______________________________ Her childe by modern nights have found their temporary place in Kinderd society and needed not to be still under Velia's skirt, however she maintained an active and mutual mind-link with her. Sometimes she saw this as a restriction to her freedom, but they came to learn that it is a support as well. Her connection with her childe is uncharacteristic for the general Alucinor bloodline. They are apart from one another, their bond is deep and strong and also the childe seem to revel in the dance the sire was tuning and called for — an infiltrator and the most active eye, ear and "mind- and dreamwitness" in her service. Alucinor seldom embraced more than one childe and also tended to estrange from the childe quite in a short time, as much as they did not like to spend much time among their bloodline members either - for they reminded them on their own shortcomings, and worse still are haunted by one anoter's creeping nightmares in an extremely amplified manner all the more intensified with physical proximity. As independent as her childe was, she and her both knew well that they still had much to lean to follow their own right Paths. Olivie Devereux External (Flickr) image The sole childe of Velia, Olivie, was not an accident of Embrace. It was meant to be, she would have said. She first spotted her in the libray she was also digging in. She failed her last attempt to get in to the university with a scholarship and studied day and night just to get what she wanted to finally attend the humanities faculty. It reminded Velia on her desperate attempts to attend the university being female. Olivie's problem was more just financial in nature rather than gender-based as she could have never afford the tuition fees. Velia did spy on this in her dreams, where she met many interesting experiences or concepts. She orchestrated dreams for her in which she moved the Ordo Dracul's "Paths of Fate" tarot cars test's situations to see what decisions she would make. She concluded Olivie being 'Queen of Swords'. She liked the result. She meet with Olivie one night again at the university's library and told she is willing to employ someone just like her in a research, with payment of course. This cemented their relationship forvermore as ghoul and domitor and then eventually childe and sire. Olivie was earlier introduced to the Ordo Dacul than being actually Embraced. She partook in many of her sire's most occult researches, even being tasked to infiltrate mage cabals as a potential candidate to-be-awakening being genuinely interested by the Angels of the Aether. Altough Alucinor and an Angelic Dragon herself in every respect Olivie publicly donned the guise of a high profile iternational fine arts curator with a zest sufficient to abash a Toreador Daeva. She profited greatly by the use of her trained profoundly Auspex abilities, first of all the Artist's Intent. She acted as a travelling "token" keeping sleepers wherever she was going under surveillance. She never missed to meddle at the Venice, Bushwick, Paris, Liverpool, Moscow, Sidney, São Paulo, Singapore and Shanghai art biennals — social butterflying around Invictus Princes and Carthian Premiers all over the globe. Olivie was deliberately raised an unconventionally lively Mekhet childe. She was a wickedly manipulative, subtly scheming Shadow "socialite" well trained to know what to say and how to react in nearly any given social circumstance, maintaining an unshakable presence. However cordial her relationship was with her sire the Alucinor suffer from exponentially stacking nightmers in one another's circumsphere of Dreamtime access, which eventually led Olivie having keeping a healthy distance equal with as much miles as her and Velia's added Blood Potecy. Having a relatively long and close bond with her sire though, with permission, Olivie could "borrow" some of Velia's mental powers through their strong telepathic connection, even remotely by the two of the simultaneously practicing Auspex in synchron. They learned to get much out of this distant but connected nature of their nexus, with Olivie's mobility and suave and with Velia's occult mastery, and with both of their ability to glean secrets and interpret symbolism they seemed to get well along in the Danse Macabre often selling off their combined information brokering service for considerable prices or favors. Olivie was actually always more interested in Insomnium, the Sea of Deams, the Astral Realm than Velia herself was. She once ghoulified a changeling she came across and competed with over dreams, and learnt the hard way that the Lost suffer from Vinculum becuse the vampires' Banality and it bars them from their prized and even vital Glamour. The fae was a Wizened 'Artist' and whenever Olivie took his blood it caused her intense hallucinations – ones she wasn't exactly against. She was told she was "the most glamorous" vampire the he had encountered so far. Even after the disengagement of the blood-bond this changeling remained an important contact asset for Olivie — dreams are a very important common ground for both changelings and Alucinor after all. Olivie has developed an addition to changeling blood and her relatively steady supply thereof caused her becoming permanently ensorcelled as a side-effect. Ghouls _________________________________ Perhaps as for being deprived of her noble status in her mortal life —by both of her dishonorable conception and by her grandfather's noble line eventually dying out on a political level— Velia did never really shun from exploiting the power of Vinculum on mortals. She often had mortal families playing to claim actual relation with her even on legal grounds, and she very often resorted impersonating her own inheritor(s) which eventually led to her Havens falling under her control and in the constant upkeep in her ghoul "relatives". It was and often and sometimes still is Olivie who shipped Velias conserved Vitae to the dependent ones when Velia could or whished not to give it by person. Lior Margulies External (Flickr) image A long time ghoul and guarding companion of Velia who saved her unlife a couple times, notedly during a few daytime sleepwalking accident. Lior is heavily influenced by his domitor's Vitae up to the extent that in due course he too was taking on some of her gifts and banes — much to the literal horror of Velia, blighting their times spent in one another's proximity. Lior too was sometimes distracted by his own lucid dreams and creeping nightmares potentially compromising his ability to "watch over" Velia as he did earlier. Given due course and much occult study and progress in her Coils of the Dragon she could however purge her treasures ghoul's muddied and loosened subconscious, freeing him form those for substantially long extents of time by the use of her Psychic chirurgery, which resulted rendering Lior unable to get access to the Nightmare disciplne and especially the Oneiromantic Devotions of Insomnium (which he didn't mind at all) — in turn Velia could further benefit from Lior's 'sobriety' if and whenever she needed reliable support from someone she really trusted. All this however did not stop Velia from training Lior to utilize her Vitae in his circulatory system to be able to use Auspex discipline powers for his own benefit. Similarly to Olivie, he too is constantly mentally linked to Velia by her engineering. Lior was often playing the role being Velia's close friend, boyfriend, fiancé or even husband, which came never as a great sacrafice considering how very intimate their long connection through Vinculum was. He was aged well past the lifespan of a moral human, but retained a young appearance and firm physiology throug many dozens of decades. Haven(s) _______________________________ *Velia had a manse in the town of Gorizia in Northern Italy (34170, Via degli Orzoni, 45). Locally as she participates in the Masquerade she was regualrly known as a sleep therapist, or a line thereof. (Gorizia with the rest of Friuli region is under the administration of the Court of Verona in Italy.) *An apartment used by Olivie in Venice (30125, San Polo, 1176A). Venice is a Sangiovanni fiefdom issued by the Prince of Verona. *A townhouse in Geneva (1204, Rue de la Fontaine 11). Geneva is a Court capital for the Romandy region in Switzerland. *A townhouse in Angers (49100, 5 Place Michel Debré) she inherited by virtue as proving herself to be a straight line descendant of his grandfather. Angers in Pays-de-la-Loire region of France is governed by the Court of Nantes. During the centuries she mastered the means of building a transportable household with a small number of ghouls that can effortlessly move from one safe house to another. Kindred of course do not take airlines as a valid means of transportation (regarding possibly unpredictable transfer times, delays, less-then-calculable night flights, not to mention body heat checks), unless having access to a private plane. Velia in modern nights used to resort to travel by car, as she didn't usually risked a trip longer that 8 ours at a time. Before the age of publicly affordable private automotive travel, she resorted to night trains, and before theat very infrequent and lengthy night rides by carriage (interrupted by dayily shelterings, usually in the wardrobes or closets of inn rooms, while one of her ghoul compainion occupied the bed proper and another a second room, one of them being passed for a carriage driver.) Due to the Alucior week points in unlife she had to cultivate an almost deranged extent of personal security which is indeed welcomed in moments of unreal experiences, doors were locked and windows were curtained or otherwise shaded automatically, eralier trusted on to housekeeping ghouls but in modern days also aided by programmaing and smart solutions technology. Velia's personal quarters were not always easily accessible by conventional means. This means that she was inhabiting areas of her domiciles that are displaced by or indetectable through one's ordinary perception. She was inclined to think of those who can not make it to her were most likely not worthy for her presence. She had no fear of falling down these vertical corridors, for she ususally dreamt only of stumbling down stairs.. Obviously she laid no traps around any of her holdings, thinking it may be a she in distraction who would fall for such. Her Abodes not unlike thsose of the Alucinor by general had the preference for secure, secretive lairs where they can conduct their studies of psychology in seclusion. Her three eastablished Havens all had a "well" installed. (See Prime Infusion ''below) The Havens were located along but at least colse to the slowly shifting ley lines the Ordo Dracul was so profficet to map since millennia. It was on numerous occasions that "Wellheads" "Wyrm's Nests" manifested, and the Gorizia mansion was exactly placed where it stood being a location of recurring Fontal Nest. Abilities ___________________________________________________________________________________ Notable Skills: Academics ••••, Empathy ••••, Occult •••••, Persuasion ••• Disciplines: *Auspex ••••• :: Heightend Senses, Uncanny Perception, The Spirit's Touch, Lay Open the Mind, Twilight Projection *Celerity •• *Dominate •• :: Command, Mesmerize. *Majesty •• :: Awe, Confidant. *Nightmare •••• Dread Presence, Face of the Beast, The Grand Delusion, Waking Nightmare *Obfuscate ••• :: Face in the Cowd, Touch of Shadow, Cloak of Night *Resilience •• Coils of the Dragon: *Coil of the Ascendant ••••• ::: Surmounting the Daysleep, The Warm Face, Conquer the Red Fear, Peace With the Flame, Sun's Forgotten Kiss. *Coil of Zirnitra •••• ::: Opening the Third Eye, Unleash the Mind, Embolden Potential, Dragon'a Breath. ::: Supernatural Merits: Mind Reading, Thought Projection, Telepathic Communication, Telepathic Rapport *Coil of Živa •• ::: Denying the Bane, Buttress the Soul *Coil of the Sidereal (actually a Coil of the Devil) ••••• Devotions: (Auspex: A, Celerity: C, Coil of the Dragon: CoD, Coil od the Sidereal: Cos, Dominate: D, Majesty: M, Nightmare: Nm Obsfuscate: O, Resilience: R) Chains of the Spirit (M+O), Eyes of the Dragon (A+CoD), Iron Facade (O+R), ''Twilight Ascent (A+CoS), Knowing the Stranger (A+O), Manteia (A+O+C) Psychic Chriurgery (A+Cos+N), Quicken Sight (A+C), Sleepwalker (D+I), Specter Sight (A+O), Timed Message (A+M+C), Talk of the Town (A+M), The Cutting Of The Strings (A+O), Touch of Deprivation (A+D), Veridical Tongue (A+M). * Psychic Chirurgery: :: This custom Devotion Velia developed was the result of focusing both the telepathic powers of Auspex, the aetherial resonances applied through the Prime Infusion Sacle of the Sidereal of and the subcounscious-manipulating means of Insomnium in a way of sincracy so that it may allow to her to dive in to the mind of her subject and is able to remove mental loops like compulsions and charms, rearrange cognitive alignmets like derangements, and with even more concentration she was able to mend mental disjuctions along with psychosomatic illnesses, and finally the most taxing but most salient abiltiy of this power was to transfer planted mental fuctions, like adding knowlede of something to the subjects mind or knowing. This latter also could work in reverse as well - meaning Velia might have been able to remove knowlege from the subject's mind. *''Oneiromantic Devotions of ''''Insomnium ''(Auspex + Nightmare): :: Nota Fluctus, Vela Somnis, Equitare Undis, Portum Somnis, Exes Incubus, Ictus Incubus, Loricatoum Astralus, Prudential Fulmis, Capturam ex Mari, Canini Incubus, Iaculum Astralus, Echus ex Fluvium Oceanus, Invocatio Cimaerae, Mare Solis Absorbuit Category:Blog posts